Oracle this week rejected a proposed $272 million settlement in its long-running copyright infringement lawsuit against rival SAP, setting the stage for a new chapter in the companies’ legal battle.

The case reaches back to 2005 when SAP acquired TomorrowNow, which provided support services for Oracle applications. TomorrowNow, which SAP shut down in 2008, downloaded copyrighted software and documents from Oracle support Web sites. Oracle sued in 2007. SAP has admitted liability in the case but has argued that the billions in damages Oracle has sought are excessive.

“We are disappointed that Oracle has passed up yet another opportunity to resolve this case,” SAP said in a statement. “We will continue to work to bring this case to a fair and reasonable end.”

Acer this week decided to sue former president and CEO Gianfranco Lanci over alleged breach of a noncompete agreement. The highly regarded Lanci, who left Acer last March after a difference of opinion over how Acer should compete in tablets, joined Lenovo last September in a consulting role and was later tapped to head up the company’s EMEA PC unit.

Lenovo is coming on strong in the PC market and last year overtook Dell for the No. 2 spot worldwide. Acer, meanwhile, saw its PC sales drop more than 18 percent last year and is currently No. 4 worldwide, and the company has also been slow in figuring out its tablet strategy. Which is why this move carries with it an unmistakable whiff of desperation.

Oil drillers, scientists and the military are clamoring for new robots that can roam the ocean for years and never need fuel.WE'RE 25 MILES OUT in the Gulf of Mexico, plowing through rough seas to ren …